Of the ~95% of businesses that ultimately fail or stay forever stuck below the 7 figure mark:

Some of them suffer from starvation where they can’t generate enough business or revenue to reach the next level…

…while others suffer from indigestion where they try to do too much, too fast and end up overwhelmed, overextended, and burnt out.

Early stage businesses are vulnerable in the moments of their early successes because they see all cash as equal.

In reality, there are multiple types of cash in your business. Treating them as the same creates a dangerous situation.

Revenue Generated =  How much people have agreed to pay you

Is different than

Revenue Collected =  How much money has actually come into the business

Is different than Gross Profit on the total cash collected revenue.

If you make plans and projections off of Revenue Generated….

You’re going to have a bad time.

Most entrepreneurs also mismanage the other major assets in their business beyond the financial ones:

(1) Relationships

&

(2) Audience

Just like you need to invest attention and energy to grow your financial resources, you need to invest time (and thought) into relationships….

…share what you are building and what you’ve learned to be of value first to your audience (regardless of its current size)….

…and don’t spend all of your money (especially before you’ve collected it….)

Part 2:
Harness & Scale Leverage

In a lot of cases, the best thing that the leaders in the business can do is to THINK, not do.

Thinking through ways to communicate and connect with the market, clients, and team members more effectively….

…or thinking through how to make key parts of the business to be more efficient & more effective.

The problem is that there’s always a million things to do. 

The lowest value tasks done by the leaders in the business need to be examined. A plan needs to be developed to free up key people in your business from things that drag down their average.

There are 3 types of leverage:


Leverage of Time — hiring someone and delegating tasks

Leverage of Money — spending money to reduce friction & solve problems

Leverage of Energy — delegating outcomes so you don’t have to think about it


When used properly, leverage will allow you to build momentum faster WITHOUT it needing to be you who has to apply all your OWN time and energy to make each key thing happen.

Trying to do too much yourself sets you up to always need to run at top speed in order for things to grow.

Part 3:
Risk Mitigation

In many ways, your job is risk mitigation.

If any single thing in your business is based on “trusting it will go well” or “hope” — it is a ticking time bomb.

It’s only a matter of time until this area lets you down (or worse….)

There is almost certainly 1+ of the core pillars of business where you or your team are weak.

Finances. Operations. Marketing. Sales. Delivery. Mindset. 

Leaving any of these to chance is a disaster waiting to happen.

Your job is too calculate the risks and threats presented by your current weaknesses and holes… 

…and create systems & processes to mitigate the biggest and most pressing risks.

The businesses that survive and continue to grow are the ones that the BEST risk mitigators. 

Business is a long-term game.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling the business or not…

Those who succeed are thinking 5 years from now have the chance to grow through time as opposed to always being a step behind reacting to things only after the fact. 

If you can adopt a long term strategic mindset, while also managing the short and long-term risks, investments, and opportunities for leverage that your business needs — your ability to succeed (and profit) massively will be rewarded.